It seems that in the Reformed(ish) world there is only one approved narrative regarding race and racial reconciliation. Indeed, any voice which dissents even mildly from the approved message is ignored and/or vilified by the great and the good.

Perhaps the recognized white leaders of big reformed(ish) evangelicalism are under the impression that our African American brothers and sisters are a monolith with one voice and one perspective. Either that or their hostility toward dissent keeps them from acknowledging the diversity of views among our A.A. brothers and sisters. I have seen a white pastor refer in writing to an African American sister in Christ as “ignorant” because she dared dissent from the obsession with race so in fashion today. This white pastor, it seems, knows more about racism than she does.

If you are interested at all in hearing some of the diversity among our African American brothers and sisters I would encourage you to check out the following:

I do not supply these links because these men and women all agree with each other (or with me) all the time. I direct you to them because the current gatekeepers of the discussion surrounding race and racial reconciliation are ignoring them.

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On Saturday August 12, 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia was scarred by violence and hatred as white supremacist groups gathered to rally for their cause. Not surprisingly counter-protestors gathered as well. Some of the counter-protests were peaceful. Others were not. The mix led to an inevitable explosion of violence.

Tragically, one man, in an act of murderous terrorism, plowed his car into a crowd of people injuring 19 and killing one woman. And to heap tragedy upon tragedy two Virginia State Police Officers were killed in a helicopter crash.

The “triggering” event for this protest was the proposed removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. But the fact is, the decision to remove the statue did not produce the hate which was on display. It merely provided an excuse for those already occupied by hate to put it on proud display.

The presence of counter-protest violence – as sinful as that was – does not change the fact that Christians must denounce white supremacy, white nationalism, and resurgent Nazi-ism. These things are wicked and dangerous. It makes me sick to my stomach to see men dressed in Nazi garb, waving Nazi flags, offering Nazi salutes, and chanting Nazi slogans. Our country offered up scores of thousands of lives in Europe to defeat that ideology.

I was disappointed by President Trump’s hopelessly vague denunciation of the violence in Charlottesville. Christians must not be similarly vague when it comes to public evil. Whether it is spousal abuse, abortion, the present sexual chaos, or racism the people of God must be clear. Sin – especially those sins which damage and destroy image-bearers of God – must be publicly denounced. The public conscience must be pricked by the sharp point of truth.

At this point some of you must surely want to raise the fact that plenty of counter-protestors came armed with pepper spray, home-made flame throwers, and other weapons. That is true. Such behavior ought to be condemned without qualification. Local authorities will hopefully hold accountable those individuals connected to the so-called “Antifa” and others who acted out violently. And, yes, it would be nice if left-wing violence received the same level of media attention and public backlash as that from neo-Nazis. But unfortunately a world which holds the left accountable does not exist. And, no, the sorts of anti-white rhetoric regularly flowing from groups like Black Lives Matter does not help. It would be nice if the Reformed African American Network (RAAN) would condemn anti-white rhetoric. Alas…

Racial bigotry belongs to the same species of sins as abortion because it denies full human dignity to certain individuals and entire groups. It holds that there is such a thing as lesser humans. It is the wicked ideology which fired the ovens of Auschwitz. Therefore there is no appropriate way to say of what was on display in Charlottesville in the Nazi salutes and racist chants, “I disapprove, but…”

Racial bigotry or any sense of racial superiority is an atheistic false doctrine. It denies the witness of Scripture which holds that all humanity bears the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and thus possesses equal dignity. It also denies the vital connection Paul makes in Acts 17 – “And he made from one man every nation of mankind…” (vs. 26). We are all connected through a common lineage. Little wonder that the Nazis and Margaret Sanger were so enamored with Darwinism which denies our common ancestry.

Racial bigotry also vandalizes the great Christian hope that in the age to come all of those whom God has gathered to himself from every nation, tribe, and tongue through Jesus Christ will assemble around the throne of the Lamb.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-10)

The answer to racial bigotry is not an amalgamation of left-wing critical theory and the gospel. The two cannot be harmonized. Nor is it appropriate to respond to white nationalism with black nationalism. The answer is a message. It is the same message Paul brought to the Corinthians; a message which seemed then and will seem today foolish and weak (1 Cor 1:18-2:5). There has never been a generation which looked upon the proclamation of the gospel as relevant and powerful. But it is through the message of the cross that God shows up the weakness and folly of the world’s power and wisdom.

We must not now succumb to those who say that the gospel is not enough. We must not experiment anew with the proven failures of the so-called social gospel. Are there vital implications which flow from the gospel? Implications which inform our words and guide our actions? Most certainly yes! But our answer to the hatred of Nazis must be the same as that given to homosexuals, adulterers, the greedy, drunkards, and the self-righteous. What is called for above all else is the message of the cross.

The church is at her best when she offers the one thing the world cannot: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Those who gathered in Charlottesville waving Nazi banners and chanting “blood and soil” are lost souls. They are not to be hated but pitied and prayed for. Their minds and hearts have been seized by our ancient foe. Their sin is worthy of condemnation. But who among us can claim that hate has never occupied a seat of honor in our hearts? Who among us can say honestly that we have never thought of ourselves as somehow superior to someone else? We may be sophisticated enough to not put our sins on garish display. But does that make us more innocent? Before God saved us were we any more fit for grace than the pitiful souls who chanted “blood and soil” in the streets of Charlottesville?

You have no doubt heard the term “intersectionality” by now. It is an idea which is sweeping academia and activism (unfortunately one in the same thing now). Oddly it is also beginning to have an influence among evangelicals, even of the broadly reformed stripe.

Evangelicals are right to be concerned about intersectionality because it is something of a virus attached to much (not all) of the new social justice activism being imported into the church.

Intersectionality begins to manifest itself by lending justification to, for instance, a left-wing political action committee being run from the offices of a PCA church. It is also seen in various social media with calls – from professing Christians – for white evangelicals to quit trying to take the gospel to Africa because “we good.”

Of course all of this has been warned against. Making something so impossibly vague as “social justice” the central concern of the church has only ever lead to apostasy. If legitimate calls for racial reconciliation are allowed to morph into racial politics the gospel itself will be distorted and the Great Commission will be recast as cultural imperialism.

In recent years several major Christian denominations have been dealing with questions related to race and racial reconciliation. Two of the denominations are the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). At the recent annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention there was a controversy over a motion to condemn the so-called alt right. The motion was eventually approved. I will not attempt a definition of the alt right other than to say that it is a movement which bears many of the hallmarks of white supremacy or, at the very least, white identity politics. Any ideology which advances racism or racial separatism is not compatible with the Christian gospel.

A Southern Baptist minister who is African American announced his departure from the denomination in an article published by the New York Times. Disheartened by what he believes is continued racism in the SBC Lawrence Ware has decided to forfeit his ordination. He believes the rather messy debate over the alt right, the presence of Trump voters, and the refusal to back the “Black Lives Matters” organization proves that the SBC is fundamentally racist. He also laments what he believes is homophobia in the SBC.

What is getting the most attention however is what I would describe as Ware’s poker-tell near the end of the article where he writes: “I love the church. But I love black people more.”

Being a pastor I am understandably concerned about the possibility of seeing similar sentiments grow in the denomination in which I serve. I have been encouraged by some of the conversations regarding race going on in the PCA. Even where we may disagree there are men and women of good faith with a common commitment to God's Word and the gospel who are having helpful conversations about race. But I am in equal measure concerned when I see influential voices in our denomination endorse Black Lives Matter (an anti-Christ organization) and write positively about segregation.

Rod Dreher points out that the ideas coming from Ware give an unfortunate claim of legitimacy to the alt right:

See, this is the kind of thing that vindicates some on the alt-right, who say that it doesn’t matter what you believe or why you believe it, they’re still going to hate you and accuse you of being one of us. So why not be one of us? (they say).

I reject categorically the racial idolatry of the alt right. I reject with equal force the religion of race held by Lawrence Ware and Black Lives Matter. The religion of racial idolatry is a dead end for reconciliation and poisonous to the gospel. I pray it will be rejected in the PCA.

There are a lot of conversations going on in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) concerning homosexuality and same sex attraction. A division exists which seems only to be growing wider. On the one hand are those who believe that homosexual attraction is inherently sinful. They deny that it is ever appropriate for a Christian to identify as gay even if they resist the behavior. They do not see how sexual attraction can be separated from sexual desire. On the other hand are those who believe that homosexual attraction is not inherently sinful. They agree (so far as I can tell) that homosexual sex is sinful. However they do not believe that there is anything inherently sinful with the attraction.

Unfortunately some within the PCA are using unhelpful and potentially damaging language to describe homosexual desire. Phrases like sexual orientation, for instance, suggest that homosexual desire is just one of many available “orientations.” Such language falls far short of that which the Bible uses. I have even seen the phrases “sexual minority” and “gay Christian” being used within the PCA to describe homosexuals. This ought to concern every pastor and member of PCA churches. I know of no church or denomination where such a trajectory has ended well.

The following video (HERE) is from an address delivered by Rosaria Butterfield at Grace Presbyterian Church in Nashville. The entire thing is well worth listening to. However, the link I provided will take you to the 53 minute mark where Dr. Butterfield mentions the PCA specifically. Please take time to watch.

"In trying to be helpful, many churches have failed, because they have failed to be truthful. They have failed not out of hardness of heart, or lacking of kindness, but in thinking that they are more merciful than God. I shudder to think about how much more rigorous, painful, and dangerous, and difficult my conversion would have been had it taken place in 2016. Rigorous, painful, dangerous, and difficult both for me personally and for my church…Especially today the PCA is smitten in a stupid way, I'm using a hard word, very stupid way and to their shame, to the gay Christian movement." - Rosaria Butterfield

During the week of June 12, 2017 the Presbyterian Church in America held its annual General Assembly in Greensboro, NC. The following is my attempt to summarize my thoughts from the week.

1. I continue to be grateful to the Lord for the PCA. I am grateful that the founders of our denomination had the courage and conviction to break fellowship with those who no longer held to the Scriptures and orthodox confessional standards. For one raised in broad evangelicalism, being part of a denomination which holds to the Westminster Standards and the Book of Church Order is a great blessing. The PCA still holds to the authority and inerrancy of Scripture. The Mainline denominations are dying precisely because they abandoned the Scriptures. And while modest, the PCA continues to grow.

2. As always I greatly enjoyed my time with brothers. The Lord has given the PCA many faithful pastors. I was encouraged, as I always am, by my time with these men.

3. Every pastor and member of a PCA church ought to be thankful for Presbyterian polity. To the uninitiated, Presbyterian church government may seem rather archaic and inflexible. Indeed it is and thankfully so. This rather complex and slow-moving process helps to ensure that men do not highjack the church. It helps protect the church from unruly pastors and sessions. It helps protect pastors from unruly congregations. Presbyterianism is not perfect. But it works remarkably well when actually practiced.

4. The moderator for GA has a tough job. It requires a complex of particular skills and knowledge that few possess. It is important that each year the Assembly elect as moderator a man who has those particular skills. I was impressed that this year’s moderator handed over the gavel to a more experienced man to lead the Assembly through a particularly complex debate.

5. The OverturesThis year the Assembly considered 25 overtures. I won’t go through the entire list. There were however several overtures that I considered to be of particular significance.a) Overture #2This overture would have granted Book of Church Order (BCO) chapter 59 constitutional authority. Chapter 59 of the BCO deals with the solemnization of marriage and makes clear that marriage is exclusively to be between a man and a woman. So far so good. The problem is that chapter 59 belongs to that portion of the BCO which does not have constitutional authority. That is, it is part of the BCO which churches are not required to practice. Overture 2 seeks to give constitutional authority to chapter 59 thus giving it binding authority. You may be wondering how that could be controversial. Unfortunately, it was.

It was clear from the start that Overture 2 faced strong opposition. It made it through the Overtures Committee by a very narrow margin. From the assembly floor it was recommitted for consideration next year. I understand that there were some conservatives who, though agreeing with the spirit of Overture 2, nevertheless believed that the wording needed perfecting. Others were opposed to Overture 2 for reasons of which I can only speculate.

The new sexual revolution is yielding a terrible harvest in the land. Many churches and denominations have wandered from the truth and embraced all manner of sexual immorality. It is important in times such as these that the church give public witness to the truth. Overture 2 is an opportunity to do that. It is also a means by which we remind the laity in PCA churches that we must not capitulate to the spirit of the age. Also, by adopting Overture 2 we will provide further legal protection for PCA pastors and chaplains who will be increasingly pressured to perform same-sex weddings. By making BCO 59 constitutional we can do these things.

I am mystified by any principled opposition to Overture 2. Perfect the wording? Fine. But oppose the Overture outright? For what purpose? Are we embarrassed by our position on homosexuality and marriage? Are we afraid to confront the civil authorities when they bless what God calls an abomination? Will such a move make us less winsome? If the only sins we are willing to condemn are the same ones condemned by popular culture then what has happened to us?

As amended, Overture 7 changes Rules of Assembly Operation (RAO) 7-3 so that long-range planning for the PCA come to the Assembly through overtures from the lower courts not the Cooperative Ministries Committee.

The passage of Overture 7 was a very good thing for our denomination. The PCA was designed to be a grassroots denomination. That is, it is not supposed to be ruled by committees but through the lower courts – sessions and presbyteries. Committees, therefore, exist to execute policy not to propose policy. This helps to protect the denomination from special concerns who may “fill” committees with “our people.” The liberal drift of the Mainline denominations was often times aided by the empowering of committees thus eliminating the proper oversight of the lower courts.

c) Overture #18“Amend RAO 9 so that ad interim committees may only be formed in response to presbytery overtures.”

So, paragraph 9.2 in RAO now reads: “Recommendations for the appointment of ad-interim or study committees shall arise only by way of overtures from Presbyteries, which shall be exclusively submitted to the Overtures Committee for recommendations to the General Assembly.”

Like Overture 7 the passage of 18 was a very good thing for the future of our denomination. It helps to ensure that the lower courts propose overtures rather than specially appointed committees. Further, this will ensure that overtures submitted to the Assembly will go through proper debate in the Overtures Committee.

6. Very, very (I mean VERY) few men look good in a tank top.

7. More Ruling Elders need to attend General Assembly. The numbers aren’t even close. If I’m not mistaken, there were about 220 Ruling Elders in Greensboro in a denomination with about 330,000 members. The problem of course is expense. It’s almost an entire week and it ain’t cheap. Churches ought to do their best to budget toward enabling their maximum allotted number of commissioners to General Assembly each year.

8. The Committee on Review of Presbytery RecordsThis year there was a controversy over the application of the 2nd Commandment.

A six page minority report from 8 members of the Committee was adopted by the Assembly. The substitute for recommendation 52 was adopted: “Exception: January 30, 2016 (Ex. 20:4; WLC 109) – Presbytery distributed to worshipers in the Worship Guide the cover of which included an apparent representation of the second person of the Trinity, thereby introducing that representation into worship.” A copy of the cover was included in the report.

Allow me to translate. Each year the minutes from presbytery meetings are reviewed by the Committee on Review of Presbytery Records (RPR). This committee exists to help ensure that presbyteries are following proper procedure. During the review process this year it was noticed that a particular presbytery distributed a worship guide which included a picture of Jesus. An objection was raised but a majority of the RPR concluded that such an image was not problematic. In response a minority report was composed.

Our confessional standards are quite clear regarding the use of images in worship – they are prohibited. I understand that some men who affirm our standards differ when it comes to the use of images of Jesus for pedagogical purposes (Sunday School, Children’s Bibles, etc.). But I am troubled that the PCA seems divided over the use of images of God in services of worship. Some of the comments from the floor opposing the adoption of the minority report reflected the Nestorian error that the picture was only of the human nature of the Son. Other comments treated those wanting to hold to our doctrinal standards as weaker brothers, as though such a commitment to our standards is reflective of spiritual immaturity.

Thankfully, the minority report was approved by the Assembly.

9. The Report of the Ad Interim Study Committee on Women in MinistryNot surprisingly the debate dedicated to this report took a lot of time and seemed to get bogged down in the minutiae of parliamentary procedure. The report of the Study Committee can be found HERE.

I was not in favor of the formation of the Study Committee. I believed last year and still believe that it did not come to the assembly in a proper way. I also believe the breadth of the committee’s mission was far too wide.

That said, the committee was served by honorable men and women who are my brothers and sisters in Christ. I commend them for what must have been a difficult task considering the disagreements on the committee. There are some very good things about the report. For instance, the section on ordination is quite good. It clearly upholds the fact that ordination is authoritative. In other words, when elders and deacons are ordained there is a certain level of authority being conferred upon them. This matters because it helps explain why most of us oppose ordaining women to the office of deacon. Ordination inherently confers authority and the responsibilities given to deacons in the BCO involve the exercise of authority.

The report is also clear that God has given the task of spiritual leadership to men. The report, though acknowledging differences in ordaining women to the office of deacon, was uniform in holding to male-only ordination to the office of elder. Any pastors in the PCA who hope for a pathway to see women ordained to the office of elder will find no support in this document or the words of the committee members.

During the committee report Kathy Keller, a committee member, stated emphatically that she in no way supports women holding positions of authority over men in the church. She went so far as to say that if anyone in the PCA does support women in positions of authority then they are in the wrong denomination. That clarity was helpful.

It is a good thing to have conversations about the God-designed role of women in the life and ministry of the church. Those discussions ought to go far beyond merely asserting those things women may not do. So, the report is helpful insofar as it helps churches that may need assistance in clarifying in a positive way the contributions the church needs from women.

The Assembly adopted the eight recommendations from the Study Committee. For many of us, the recommendations, at least most of them, were the real problem with the report.

The recommendations are as follows:

1. “That Overture 3 from Westminster Presbytery, to ‘Declare that the 44th General Assembly erred in the formation of an Ad Interim Committee on the role of women as not being properly before the court, and dismiss the Ad Interim Committee with apology,’ be answered in the negative.”

There was an attempt from the floor to dismiss the committee with thanks but to not receive the report due to procedural irregularities. The motion failed. Next Dr. Joey Pipa moved that the report be received and sent on to presbyteries without comment. That motion failed.

2. “That sessions, presbyteries, and the General Assembly recognize that, from the founding of the PCA, there has been a variety of views and practices regarding the ways in which women may serve the Lord and the church within scriptural and constitutional parameters, without ordination, and that such mutual respect for said views and practices continues.”

3. “That sessions, presbyteries and the General Assembly strive to develop, recognize, and utilize the gifts, skills, knowledge, and wisdom of godly women in the local, regional, and national church, and particularly consider overtures that would allow qualified women to serve on appropriate committees and agencies within the church.”

The key phrase here is “appropriate committees and agencies.” This is too vague in my opinion. There are committees and agencies that involve responsibilities open only to those in spiritual authority. The PCA must maintain clear boundaries around those committees which exercise authority and spiritual oversight lest we violate biblical principles.

The recommendation, as originally proposed, read, “That sessions, if possible, establish a diaconate of qualified ordained men. Though The Book of Church Order does not specifically prohibit the practice of going without ordained deacons, it seems poorly aligned with the spirit of the principle of the two church offices outlined in The Book of Church Order.”

During the debate the proposed recommendation was amended to read: “That sessions, if possible, establish a diaconate of qualified ordained men. The practice of going without ordained deacons is poorly aligned with the spirit of the principle of the two church offices outlined in The Book of Church Order.” This amendment improved upon the original by making it clear that the practice of not ordaining deacons does not merely “seem” to be but indeed “is poorly aligned with the spirit of the two church offices outlined in the Book of Church Order.”

Sadly, this improved wording was stripped from the recommendation. To make matters worse the original wording was almost entirely demolished. I would have been able to support the recommendation as worded originally and especially after the improvement of the first amendment. As it stands the recommendation means virtually nothing.

Why does this matter? It may surprise many reading this that some PCA churches do not ordain deacons. In at least some of these cases it is because, according to the BCO, only men are to be ordained as deacons. In response some churches have chosen to not ordain deacons at all – “If we can’t ordain women then we won’t ordain men either.” That is a clear violation of the spirit of the BCO and should be rebuked. It robs the church of an ordained diaconate. Recommendation four was stripped of any language acknowledging that this practice is contrary to the standards which elders in the PCA vow to uphold.

5. “That sessions consider how to include non-ordained men and women in the worship of the church so as to maintain faithfulness to Scripture, as well as utilizing the gifts God has poured out to His entire church (see exegesis of 1 Corinthians 14:26 in Chapter Two).”

One of the problems with this recommendation is the lack of clarity. To what extent may women and unordained men take an active role in leading the church in worship? It seems to me that the committee’s recommendation is too broad to be helpful.

There was an attempt to amend this statement to read, “That sessions, provided their consciences allow it, consider how to include…” Unfortunately that recommendation was not approved by the Assembly. That action suggest to some of us that TE’s who are convinced by their reading of Scripture that women and unordained men should not be taking an active role in leading the church in worship ought not to have a conscientious objection.

6. As amended, “That sessions and presbyteries select and appoint godly women and men of the congregation to assist the ordained diaconate.”

The recommendation, as proposed, read, “that sessions and presbyteries select and appoint godly women of the congregation to assist the ordained leadership; these godly, unordained women have often historically been referred to as deaconesses.”

The problem here is that the BCO already provides for deacon assistants. So I am not sure why this was included in the list of recommendations. Perhaps because it gave members of the study committee an opportunity to recommend the office of deaconess.

7. “That presbyteries and the General Assembly consider an overture that would establish formally the right of sessions, presbyteries, and the General Assembly to establish the position of commissioned church worker within the PCA for qualified and gifted unordained men and women.”

This recommendation is deeply troubling for at least three reasons. First, it comes too close to establishing a third office of the church. There is simply nothing in Scripture that establishes the office of “Commissioned Church Worker.” Assurances were given that there was no possibility of confusion between ordination and commissioning. I remain skeptical of this claim for what I hope are obvious reasons.

Second, how important is a title? I am happy to serve alongside many men and women who have absolutely no interest in being given a title at church. Certainly we have elders and deacons for Scripture establishes those offices. But is the desire for a title so great that we would create a de-facto church office in order to provide it?

Third, this recommendation will ultimately lead to dishonesty. One of the justifications for this recommendation is that the title of Commissioned Church Worker will provide the holder with tax benefits reserved for ordained ministers. In other words, the IRS would recognize those who hold this title as “clergy” and thus eligible for tax benefits. Yet, the PCA would not consider them clergy nor would they be called ministers, elders, or pastors. Do you see the conflict? On the one hand we would tell the IRS that these commissioned church workers are clergy while denying to our churches that they are.

8. “That sessions, presbyteries and the General Assembly consider how they can affirm and include underprivileged and underrepresented women in the PCA.”

I believe that this recommendation was amended to include the words “and men.”

In summary, I believe the report itself was good for the most part. It is a document that would be rejected as barbaric in our culture. I point that out only to reassure you that the report clearly affirms the differing roles between men and women and protects the clear teaching of Scripture that leadership in the home and church is given to men. The recommendations however are largely unhelpful or worse. My hope is that our churches will dismiss most of those recommendations.

10. Ad Interim Study Committee on Racial and Ethnic ReconciliationThe Ad Interim Study Committee on Racial and Ethnic Reconciliation (TE Kevin Smith, chairman, TE Carl Ellis, RE Alexander Jun, TE Sean Lucas, TE Jonathan Seda, TE Richie Sessions, TE Alex Shipman, voting members; RE Sylvester Brown, RE Otis Pickett, TE Russ Whitfield, advisory members) offered the Assembly a brief initial report and the Committee’s recommendations were adopted.1. That the Committee and its funding be continued for another year.2. That a budget of $50,000 be approved to secure the services of Life Way Research to “Assess the current situation in the PCA concerning racial and ethnic reconciliation.”3. That there be a follow-up study in three years to assess the growth and progress of the PCA in biblical racial reconciliation practice.

11. When will GA be held in Charleston (shrimp and grits) or Memphis (bar-b-que)?

Concluding thoughts:I have appreciated much of my correspondence and conversations with some of my brothers on the other side of our denominational debates. Such conversations matter in part because it may help reduce the polarization we are presently experiencing. It may help break apart the “voting block” mentality and make way for brothers to vote according to consciences captive to God’s Word rather than party loyalty.

My mind is not changing about things like the 2nd Commandment and ordination. My mind is not changing about the need for pastoral piety, the ordinary means of grace, missional clarity, and confessional subscription. But I think I can hold to those things without vilifying my brothers. Don’t misunderstand. I will continue to oppose efforts to broaden the PCA into progressive evangelicalism. Such efforts, I believe, will prove deadly to our denomination. Indeed, that’s been the result of all such efforts in other denominations. I will continue to encourage those who want to change the PCA to seek out fellowship in one of the denominations which already affirm their views.

However, I believe this can be done between brothers in Christ without seeing one another as the enemy.

Were there things about GA 2017 that discouraged me? Of course. Any gathering of sinners like me will at times be discouraging. But by the end of the week I was, for the most part, encouraged. I understand that some brothers, believing the PCA has drifted too far left, are seeking a way to lead their churches to a more confessional Presbyterian denomination. I am certainly sympathetic to their perspective. However, I believe it is far too early to abandon the PCA. This is not 1936. We are not the PC(USA). Not even close. Has there been a troubling trend in recent years? I believe there has been. Do we have brothers who desire to significantly broaden the PCA to something less than robustly committed to the Westminster Standards and the BCO? It certainly seems that way. But I am convinced that the clear majority of the elders and laity of the PCA are not similarly committed to that project of reinvention.

Once again I am writing from Greensboro, NC and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America.

Today was the fourth annual Gospel Reformation Network GA luncheon. If you are not familiar with the GRN you can read about it HERE.

The speaker for this year’s luncheon was pastor and author Kevin DeYoung. His topic was the mission of the church. This is a subject of timeless relevance given our capacity for mission drift. Why is the church on earth? Are we here to do good deeds? Are we here to aid the poor or call for justice in society? Is it the church’s job to proclaim the gospel? Part of the challenge in thinking through the nature of the church’s mission is learning to distinguish, from God’s Word, between the many good things that Christians ought to be doing and that mission which God has entrusted to His church. While these are complementary they are not identical.

DeYoung gave an excellent address navigating these questions. Once the audio is available I will post a link. It is something you will want your church’s pastor, ministry staff, and elders to listen to.

Clarity on the mission of the church is greatly needed in the PCA. This is not because there is anything unusually wrong with the PCA but precisely because like any denomination we need regular reminders of what God has given us to do.

I am currently in Greensboro, NC for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America.

As a denomination we are facing what I believe is a watershed moment. Overture 2 which was submitted by Calvary Presbytery will grant full constitutional status to Book of Church Order (BCO) 59 which states that “Marriage is to be between one man and one woman, in accordance with the Word of God” (59-3), and that ministers are required to obey the civil laws of the community regarding marriage “to the extent that those laws do not transgress the laws of God as interpreted by the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America”

I can imagine all sorts of reasons why this overture would be opposed. But I cannot conceive of one good reason for it to be opposed by elders in the PCA. And yet that is the situation we are facing. Overture 2 was narrowly approved by the Overtures Committee yesterday. It will surely be vigorously opposed when it comes before the Assembly for a vote.

Some say that Overture 2 is unnecessary given the existence of BCO 59 in the first place. In other words, the PCA already has a clear statement that marriage must only be between a man and a woman. But by granting BCO 59 constitutional status the PCA would be offering additional protections to pastors and chaplains who are being and will continued to be called upon to perform homosexual weddings.

There is another reason to support Overture 2. In a time when the cultural winds are blowing so strong in support of the normalization of homosexuality and other forms of sexual perversion Christians do well to articulate God’s standard all the more clearly. To paraphrase one pastor, “When you are in a tent and a thunderstorm is battering you, extra tent pegs are necessary.” Overture 2 is an extra tent peg which will further help our denomination clarify our commitment to the biblical standards of sexual ethics and marriage.

If you are a commissioner at this year’s GA I urge you to vote in favor of Overture 2. If you are a member of a PCA church I urge you to pray that it passes. In recent months we have become aware that those opposing such actions as Overture 2 are well organized, ready to “fight,” and “win every vote.” The conservatives in the PCA have no “political arm.” We have no organization comparable to the National Partnership. We tend to find such politicking unseemly. But now is not a time for naivety. That Overture 2 is facing strong opposition is an indication of the challenges before us as a denomination.

Let's face it, General Assembly can be spiritually and emotionally taxing. This is especially true when there are disagreements between us as there are this year. God tends to use situations like this to expose the sins in my own heart. It has been a painful but good process.

As we approach a week together in Greensboro I hope you will take time to read the following four pieces as they have been quite helpful for me...

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The Alliance is a coalition of pastors, scholars, and churchmen who hold the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed faith and who proclaim biblical doctrine in order to foster a Reformed awakening in today's Church.